The Case for Democracy is not a perfect book - Sharansky seems too optimistic about Russia, for example, and I would have liked more detailed information about democratic dissident movements in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. But it is an important and stirring one, and its message deserves to be heard by all. President Bush has read and praised the book, and I hope he takes its lessons to heart - especially the next time the Saudis come calling.
Damian J. Penny, originally from Mount Pearl, Newfoundland, is a lawyer in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. From 2001 until 2009, he was the proprietor of one of Canada's most popular right-of-centre political blogs, Daimnation!
The Case For Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror
Natan Sharansky has lived an unusual life, spending nine years as a Soviet political prisoner and nine years as an Israeli politician. He brings the unique perspective of his experiences in order to ...
Fear No Evil
Article comments
1 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
When you talk to Russian Jews who live here, who know Mr. Sharansky, you do not get such a positive image of the man. I will not go into too many details - I cannot afford to fight a libel suit. Let us just say that he is not as highly regarded by those who have known him for a while, as by those who barely know him at all.
2 - Bliffle
An interesting theory and one that deserves to be discussed. I look forward to seeing what dicussions follow.
3 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
'Tisn't a theory, Bliffle. I'm unusually closemouthed because of libel issues that could pop up. There are lots of Jewish lawyers because Jews like to use them lots.
4 - Dave Nalle
Let us just say that he is not as highly regarded by those who have known him for a while, as by those who barely know him at all.
Given that this is a book review, all that really matters is what he believes in print. Whether he pays his grocery bill or gives drivers the finger isn't terribly relevant to his publicly expressed political theories.
Dave
5 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Dave, I used to watch carefully his latest political party, Yisraél b'Aliyá. I got a good stiff dose of the theories he espoused in the bnok - they are essentially the same ones he espoused as head of Yisraél b'Aliyá.
In the 2003 parliamentary elections my wife and I split our vote. I voted for the National Union Party, a small right wing party against ceding more land to Arabs. My wife voted for Yisraél b'Aliyá, seeing as Sharansky appeared to be reaching out to English speaking immigrants like us.
Yisraél b'Aliyá had been a Russian immigrants' party previously.
Apparently, he had not done a decent job of bringing home the uh "bacon" for his Russian voting base, because they ditched him and voted Likud or National Union. Left with only two mandates in the 2003 Knesset, Sharansky ditched us English speakers and joined the Likud where he thought the action was.
The long and the short of it is that Sharansky is full of shit. He uses people and dumps them. His political ideas are as sound as he is.